Journal of Biotechnology Research Center

Background: Salinization negatively affects plant growth and development, removing up to 1.5 million hectares of farmland from production annually. Objective: Evaluate the synergistic of Nano-fertilizers on yield traits of wheat Triticum aestivum below saline irrigation. Methodology: two factorial plot experiments were conducted during Autumn 2022 and 2023 in Diyala, IRAQ. The plants were irrigated every 18 days from planting with three NaCl irrigation levels: 0 (distilled water), 50, and 75 mM. A foliar application of nano fertilizer was sprayed after the third leaf appeared every 15 days, three times in total. Results: The salinity significantly decreased the yield component, biological yield, and harvest index, while the synergistic effects of (S), (Q), and (M) increased by 52.86%, 15.81%, and 18.84% in 2022 and 41.05%, 20.65% and 22.62 in 2023 growth season, respectively. Additionally, the most significant effects of the synergistic nano-fertilizer on catalase, peroxidase, and Proline under salinity were 23.84%, 70.00%, and 79.78% in 2022 and 24.50%, 73.33% and 74.36% in 2023, respectively. Conclusions: The application of nano-fertilizers enhanced yield parameters and increased the antioxidant enzymes as part of the plant's defense mechanism against oxidative stress. Over time, this response to developing salinity-tolerant wheat varieties with strong antioxidant defense systems.

Background: Breast cancer is a major public health problem, with a high
incidence among females worldwide, increasing with age and environmental
conditions. Hormonal biomarkers have gained attention for their potential
utility in the early detection of breast cancer. The study aimed to investigate the
effect of biomarkers of different hormone levels, including prolactin,
Testosterone, Cortisol, and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) in the
diagnosis and early detection of breast cancer risk. Methodology: Blood and
saliva samples were collected from volunteer females, including 50 healthy
females (NB), 111 benign breasts (BB), and 20 malignant breasts (MB) samples
to determine hormone level biomarkers using enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assay (ELISA). Results: The results showed that hormonal biomarkers,
particularly prolactin, testosterone, and HCG, can serve as indicators for the
early detection of breast cancer in both serum and saliva. In contrast, cortisol
hormonal biomarkers did not have an effective association with early breast
cancer detection. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the present
association between hormonal biomarkers, including prolactin, testosterone,
and HCG, could serve as biomarkers for the early detection of breast cancer. In
contrast, cortisol did not have an effective association with early breast cancer
detection.

Background: Pumpkin seeds are valuable source of good quality proteins from the amino acids that are made of them and can be used as functional food ingredients for their properties such as solubility, foam formation and stability. The aim of this study is to produce protein isolate and its enzymatic hydrolysates from local pumpkin seeds to study their properties.
Methodology: preparing defatted pumpkin seeds for extracting the protein isolate, and hydrolysate this protein by using Trypsin and pepsin enzymes separately and together by two ways. Determination of the amino acids and the degree of the hydrolysis was conducted, more over protein properties were determined such as solubility, emulsifying activity and stability index, foaming capacity and stability.
Results: Protein isolate was achieved from local peeled non soaked pumpkins seeds with protein percentage 53.15%. Enzymatic protein hydro-lysates were produced from this isolate at different times. Essential and non-essential amino acids were determined. Functional properties for protein isolate and protein hydro-lysates were studied, just like solubility in different pH. The higher emulsifying capacity was for the enzymatic hydro-lysate by using pepsin, while the protein isolate dissolved in pH=8 had higher emulsifying stability. The enzymatic hydro-lysate by using pepsin showed the highest foaming capacity and mixed enzymes (Ma) (pepsin+ trypsin) showed higher foaming capacity and stability.
Conclusion: Pumpkin seeds isolated protein has many nutritional values that may be used in preparation protein rich food for athletics and as a source of Nitrogen in microbial culturing media.

Background: Withania somnifera L. is a famous medicinal plant that has been utilized in Global folk medicine for a long time. The leaves and roots of the plant are rich in withanolide constituents, which are primarily responsible for their therapeutic effectiveness. Objective: This study focuses on the differences in the content of withanolide compounds and biomass in W. somnifera plants under different treatments with silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs). Results: The leaves of the field plant (in vivo cultures) showed a rise in content of 27-OH-withanolide, withaferine-A, and withastramonolide. While the leaves and roots in the in vitro cultures revealed a high content of withanolide-B and withanone. The high content of withanolide-A was mainly observed in callus cultures. Moreover, the findings showed a considerable reduction in callus biomass across different concentrations of Ag-NPs (1, 2, and 3 mg/L). Conversely, there was a noteworthy rise in the production of withanolides. Specifically, withastramonolide and withanolide-A exhibited significant increases at 2 mg/L Ag-NPs, showing 121% and 15% increases, respectively, compared to the control. Additionally, several other withanolide compounds, including 27-OH-withanolide, withaferin-A, withanone, and withanolide-B, accumulated significantly at 3 mg/L Ag-NPs, with percentage increases ranging from 67% to 277%. Additionally, the study evaluated the DPPH scavenging activity in Ag-NPs-treated samples, showing a substantial 64.4% increase at 3 mg/L, which suggests the presence of elevated active components or improved antioxidants in this treatment. Conclusion: The findings provide insights into the variations in withanolide content under different culture systems and demonstrate the potential of Ag-NPs treatment to enhance withanolide yield and antioxidant activity in Withania plant cultures.

Background: As natural compounds, especially from plants, are considered a rich source of therapeutic importance, researchers have reported the benefits of using such products in treatments for diseases affecting humans and other organisms for many years. The study included the extraction of phenolic compounds from four genera of plants of the Compositae family growing wild in western Iraq, including: Achilliea fragrantissima, Herba-alba Artemisia (wormwood), Lactuca serriola (Wild lettuce ), and Silybum marianum. Methods: Hydro-alcoholic extraction was employed by the cold maceration method with 75% Ethanol. A general chemical analysis of the secondary metabolites in the crude ethanolic extract was conducted for each of the four plants separately. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was used to estimate the types of phenolic compounds qualitatively, and the total phenols in each extracted residue were quantified using a colorimetric method with a standard curve plotted for the phenol standard (Gallic acid). The HPLC technique was also employed to identify the types and concentrations of phenolic compounds extracted from each plant residue. The effect of total phenolics extracted from each plant on cultures of the Leishmanial parasite was also studied in 24-hour in vitro experiments, using different concentrations of each plant's extract. The violet color was then read at the wavelength (620 nm) using an ELISA Reader device to obtain the inhibition rates, as the intensity of the color is an expression of the number of living cells. Results: The results showed that the plants contain phenols, flavonoids, tannins, glycosides, saponins, and alkaloids; however, the wormwood extract yielded a negative result for alkaloids. The results of thin-layer chromatography analysis showed that the phenolic extracts of the four plants contained, qualitatively, Pyrogallol, Cinnamic acid, gallic acid, and Hydroquinone in varying proportions. The extract also contained some types of flavonoids. Results for HPLC showed that the four plants are rich in these phenolic compounds. For quantitative total phenolic compound results, Artemisia, the wormwood plant, contained the highest percentage, 1464.72 mg% dry plant powder. In contrast, the lowest percentage was found in the Silybum plant, at 223.86 mg% dry plant powder. The activity against Leishmania growth inhibition rate showed that each plant extract exhibited a different mode of inhibiting the parasite cultures, with Silybum plant showing the best effects, and no significant difference was observed across all concentrations. These vary depending on the type of phenolic compounds and the flavonoids present in each plant, as well as their concentration. Conclusion: The four plant genera of the Compositae family growing wild in western Iraq, including: Achilliea fragrantissima, Herba-alba Artemisia (wormwood), Lactuca serriola (Wild lettuce), and Silybum marianum, are rich with phenolic compounds and different types of flavonoids which may help in parasite diminution, as these secondary active metabolites possess notable effects in free radical scavenging and antioxidant activity.